Stone cutting is normally initially done at the site of the stone in a quarry and generally utilizes a large wheeled cutting machine that is powered by a motor that both operates the cutting blade as well as the propulsion system that moves the cutting machine in a straight line across the stone in carrying out the cutting operation. In general, the cutting operation may require a plurality of cuts along the straight line of ever deepening cuts in order to cut the stone to the desired depth.
To provide dimensionally accurate stones, therefore, it is necessary to cut the stone by moving the cutting machine into different locations along a lateral direction for the straight cuts, that is, after each straight cut to the desired depth, the cutting machine is moved laterally a specific distance whereupon the cutting machine is again propelled in a straight line to make a subsequent cut parallel to and at a known distance apart from the prior cut.
As such, after the cutting machine has made a plurality of passes along one straight line, that cutting machine then needs to be moved laterally in order to make a second cut and that lateral movement needs to be carried out accurately in order to make the eventual dimension of the stone within acceptable tolerances.
One of the problems, however, in making the multiple passes or cuts is that the terrain generally is uneven and it is difficult to align the subsequent cuts with precision to be the predetermined distance apart from the initial cut, that is, it is difficult to judge the amount of lateral movement that is needed to properly set up the cutting machine for a further cut a predetermined distance away from the immediate preceding cut.
Accordingly, it would, therefore, be desirable to have system that would allow the cutting of dimensionally accurate stone that is robust and can withstand the conditions at a quarry and yet provide an accurate system to make progressive cuts in the stone at predetermined lateral distances between each cut.